


Comfort

by foxthefanboi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, One Shot, Post-Episode: s09e10 Road Trip, Sam Winchester Has PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26482429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxthefanboi/pseuds/foxthefanboi
Summary: Sam has a nightmare, and Cas comforts him.
Relationships: Castiel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 7
Kudos: 61





	Comfort

Sam awoke with a gasp, covered in a cold sweat. He ran a hand through his hair as he stared at the ceiling. He took deep breaths to try to bring his heart rate back down to normal, but he was overwhelmed with memories of the cage, of Lucifer, of his time in hell.

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. 3:00 A.M. It was too early to be awake, but there wasn’t a chance he was going to get back to sleep tonight. He slid out of bed, the floor cool under his bare feet, and made his way to the kitchen, struggling to push down the constant sense of imminent, severe danger.

He’d just started brewing a pot of coffee in the well-lit kitchen when he heard, “Sam?”

Sam jumped and spun around, eyes wide. All the calm he’d managed to achieve while going through the motions of making coffee fled from his body in an instant.

But it was just Cas, standing in the doorway. Right. Who else could it have been? Dean was out hunting for Gadreel, and Cas was here to help heal Sam. There was no need to freak out. Of course it was safe. Of course.

“Sorry,” Cas said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh, no, it’s—it’s fine,” Sam said, his voice uneven.

“Why are you up?” Cas narrowed his eyes slightly. “Nightmares?”

Sam nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Cas asked, approaching.

Sam swallowed and closed his eyes. He saw fire and blood and an iron tang filled his mouth. His eyes flew open again. “No. No, I’m okay.” He took a deep breath, trying to convince himself as much as Cas that it was true.

Sam started to reach for a clean mug from near the coffee machine, but his hand was trembling. He willed it to be steady, but when that failed, he closed his hand into a fist and pulled it back. He didn’t want Cas to see him like this, weak and unable to hold it together.

“You’re shaking,” Cas said. He took Sam’s clenched fist and opened up the fingers one by one, holding Sam’s hand in both of his own.

“I’m just tired,” Sam said. He was acutely conscious of the warmth of Castiel’s skin on his. Something had shifted between them since Cas had come back human, with an expanded range of human emotions. He’d started to look at Sam differently, and Sam found that he liked it.

Cas shifted his gaze up to meet Sam’s eyes, and in his expression there was nothing but compassion. “It’s okay to be afraid,” he said gently.

“Yeah,” Sam said, nodding. “Yeah, I know. But—“ Another flashback this time, more intense. He gritted his teeth as he rode out the wave of nausea that overtook him. He was back in the cage, flames at the edge of his vision and his skin crawling in anticipation of the overwhelming pain that was sure to come…

Cas rested a hand on the side of Sam’s face, the distraction pulling Sam back into the present. “Sam.” Cas’s thumb lightly ran across Sam’s clenched jaw, and Sam relaxed it, closing his eyes and leaning into Cas’s touch. Cas’s touch—warm and gentle and intended only to heal and not to harm.

Sam opened his eyes again and met Cas’s gaze. Cas had been there for him when Sam had found out about Dean tricking him into allowing an angel to possess him. He’d been a rocksteady source of support as Sam had dealt with the memories of killing Kevin. And here he was now, helping Sam through the aftermath of a bad nightmare.

Sam felt a swell of affection and gratitude. He grabbed Cas’s trench-coat and tugged Cas towards him. Cas made a small noise of surprise, but then Sam was kissing him, and Cas was kissing Sam back. As he wrapped his arms around Cas, as Cas ran his fingers through Sam’s hair—Sam felt the tension in his body melt away. The claw of panic gripping at his chest loosened. The hyper-awareness of his surroundings faded as he focused on the here and now, him and Cas.

They broke apart. “Sam,” Cas said breathlessly, looking into Sam’s eyes with a dazed but longing expression. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at Sam like that, and Sam felt a satisfaction that pulled up the corners of his lips.

Cas’s hand slipped into Sam’s, intertwining their fingers, and he held up their locked hands. “You’re not shaking anymore,” he said, nodding at Sam’s steady hand.

It was true. The fear was still there—it always lingered after nightmares—but it was muted, diminished faster than it ever had before. “No, I guess I’m not. Thanks, Cas.”

Cas started to smile and open his mouth to respond, but Sam was already pulling him in for another kiss.


End file.
